Oh Costco how I love thy economy sized packages… Ok, admittedly, you have to be willing to put in some work when you buy in large quantities, but so be it. I truly do not understand the shoppers who whine about the large quantities. Umm…that’s the point? Costco sells a lovely assortment of zip top bags and food storage containers to aid in parceling and preservation.
ANYHOW…I went to Costco last week and came home with (among other things) an 8 pound pork loin; it was $1.79/lb, how could I resist? My brother was coming for dinner the next day, so the first thing I did was to cut off a good sized piece for a roast, then I sliced some into chops, and the rest into stir fry sized pieces. That’s easily 4 meals (and some leftovers) out of a $14 cut of meat.
For the roast, I made a brine out of sugar, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns, and water, and put the pork and brine in a giant orange tupperware pitcher that I have deemed much too ugly to use in normal life, but perfect for brining. This went into the ‘fridge and just chilled until I needed it.
The chops were wrapped in plastic wrap, and then put in quart sized freezer bags (guards against freezer burn). I tend not to season or marinate before freezing, because it’s very frustrating to plan Raspberry Pork Chops (the 11 year old licks his plate!) but thaw Cajun Tenderloin Pork Chops because that’s the mood I was in then. Of course, if I was planning a meal a week in advance, I’d go ahead and freeze the meat with marinade and then while it thawed it would marinate and be ready to go.
Stir Fried Sesame Pork is on the meal plan for later in the week. I don’t like to keep meat more than 3 days before using it, so this meat goes into a gallon size freezer bag and patted into a thin, flat layer so that it freezes and thaws very quickly. I also freeze ground beef in the same way, in quart sized bags for the same reason.
So, yeah, I spend a lot of time breaking down the economy packages from Costco, but it’s cost effective, and gives me credibility when accused of just having the freezer for ice cream and vodka….
Next time you plan a warehouse run, think about your upcoming meal planning and entertainment needs and save some money!